The Attack on Al Jazeera

http://www.counterpunch.org/2017/07/07/the-attack-on-al-jazeera/
Date Written:  2017-07-07
Publisher:  Counterpunch
Year Published:  2017
Resource Type:  Article
Cx Number:  CX21008

Since its genesis, Al-Jazeera has served as much more than a mere signpost of speech or thought... popular or otherwise. Its existence, alone, stands as a safety valve against those closed societies that embrace repression as so much a check against the light of day of which they fear. Al-Jazeera's availability throughout the Middle East changed its information landscape ... introducing a level of freedom of speech, on TV, that was previously unheard of in the region.

Abstract: 
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Excerpt: The internet, alone, is the sole means, within KSA, by which a relatively robust exchange of information, from within and without the state, can circulate. However, its closely monitored "citizen-journalists" are subject to strict filtering mechanisms that scrutinize and, often, block their internet content.

Indeed, authorities regularly monitor websites, blogs and chat rooms, as well as the content of e-mail and mobile-phone text messages.

Sites that contain "harmful", illegal, anti-Islamic, or offensive material are blocked… as are those that carry criticism of Saudi Arabia, the royal family, or the other Gulf States.